1. one who adheres to a strict and rigid set of eating practices based on political, ethical or religious beliefs and takes his or her diet a little too seriously. (2010)
2. one who recognizes the madness surrounding current food discourse, policy and dietary habits. (2012)

Monday, April 19, 2010

Axis of Evil

In what appears to be the conspiracy to end all others (in my world anyway), Scientific American cited an article that appeared in the American Journal of Public Health revealing that health and life insurance companies have major investments in the fast food industry.

The largest burger backer was Northwestern Mutual, which had invested $422.2 million in publicly traded fast food corporations, including $318.1 million in McDonald's, according to Mohan's research.

Now I'm not as naive as you might think - I get it, insurance companies want to make some money. But here's the problem I see with it: if fast food chains are doing well, their stocks are up but our health is down. That means we will be submitting more claims, demanding more payment from the insurance companies to pay for statins, heart and gastric bypass surgeries. On the other hand, if (in my imaginary world) Americans jumps on the wellness bandwagon and skip the fast food joints and embrace healthier options, fast food stock plummets, insurance investments suffer. So while we might be more healthful and submit fewer claims, demand less payout from insurance, we have to worry whether our insurance policies will have any value after our years of premiums have been gambled away against us. Fortunately, in this utopic vision, we'll all live to 120, die peacefully in our sleep and there will be affordable public healthcare to all who need it.

No, I completely agree with you! It's cheaper to eat processed foods made from subsidized crops - yet another element of the "conspiracy." Eating heathfully is expensive. But so is an Equinox membership. I'm just saying.

Saw Koutoubi with the same Coke on his tray today. I totally harassed him and he told me that he needed it for his son's science project and that it takes 40 years for a can to decompose. Kind of a disgusting and morbid thought, but I wonder how long it takes for a human to decompose if they only eat fast food?

In many ways though Grandpa has it right. While he enjoys his Coke, he always declines soup at the beginning of a meal because it will fill him up, and his mantra, from Grandma Frances, is "always leave the table a little bit hungry." This has always perplexed me as the least "Jewish" way of eating, but it's got some scientific support. In fact, it is close to the concept of "hara hachi bu" - eating until you are 80% full - one of the key concepts in the Okinawan diet, one noted for its populations' longevity, and the subject of much research.